4 veterans the Steelers could trade away as they begin to rebuild

CB Justin Layne

Justin Layne isn’t going to be worth as much to teams now as he would have been after the Steelers drafted him. Once talked about by the mainstream draft media as a potential late first-round pick coming out of the 2019 NFL Draft, Layne fell all the way to the middle of the third round. Apparently for good reason.

Now entering his third NFL season, Layne has yet to play a significant number of snaps or make significant progress on the football field. The good news is that he is still a very young player with terrific length and athleticism for the position. At nearly 6’2” with 33” inch arms and a massive 80 1/8” wingspan, Layne has an enticing blend of length to go with his 87th percentile athletic testing, according to Three Sigma Athlete.

Layne was also a standout special teams player over the past two seasons and adds value here. After being surpassed on the depth chart late in the season by undrafted rookie, James Pierre, Layne doesn’t hold a lot of value to the future of this team. Still, on a very favorably rookie deal, Pittsburgh could attempt to cut their losses and get a day-three pick out of Justin Layne. Someone will be willing to take a chance on his tools.